Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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V iewpoint SG ele< By WAYNE BROOKS Opinion Page Editor Student government elections are slated for Monday, March 13, only two weeks away. Yet, unless you have had direct contact with someone who was actively involved in student government or in a campaign for office, you probably umildn't know it. ~ Sign-up began last Monday for interested candidates for the four executive offices and 59 senate seats: it last Friday. Not until the student senate meeting Wednesday did many senators even know signup had begun. Publicity for sign-up was not the best it could be. A few signs were scattered around campus at strategic points, and an ad was published in The Gamecock Thursday (only one day before sign-up ended.) That's all and that's not sufficient. Publicity should have begun before sign-up, not just before it has ended. IF PUBLICITY is to be handled by the Elections Commission in such a haphazard way, I cannot help but wonder if this is any indication of how the election will be conducted. Let's hope not. Remember last spring's - - ; ^ VVT 1 / 1 >< i / / Ou/Af Ut , I X ( "-S H.u'l .hi # It's OK, "l > | mi n"i?|XWfci i ' ? ' ' ' 1 ts ctions o fiasco when SG elections were held? Polls were left unattended, untrained poll workers allowed students to vote without IDs, students voted more than once, and candidates and their supporters violated election statutes left and right without prosecution. You name it; it happened. As a result, the senate voted against certifying the election results, and the election was held in litigation in the student courts for more than a month. 1 UKKTA1INL.Y nope this year's election will be relatively free of the many infractions, senate statute violations, and displays of unethical conduct by candidates and their supporters that plagued last spring's olonfinn VAVV VAVAA But already, I have been informed of several acts of illintent during the Greek primary that leave its results in question in the minds of many. Two sorority members, who wished not to be identified because they feared the consequences of "ratting" on their sorority sisters, have informed me that poll workers during the Greek primary, all of whom were women, instructed them to vote for Dottie Hammond, who later won the Greek endorsement. rp i 11 R J ^ i . * , I 1 ^ t \ i ? i * I ' I.) ' | ; : ( , ; I r [/*? 6* f ^ & f guards. Kew< iff to ro< The informants said poll workers told them no identification was necessary for voting and to vote for "Dottie Hammond. She's the Panhellenic candidate." The informants also said it was very probable that poll workers allowed people to vote more than once. BECAUSE MS. Hammond avoided a run-off between candidate Joe Drawdy by only one vote, it is very probable that the misconduct of poll workers who told people how to vote did in fact affect the outcome of the primary. A thorough investigation of this matter should have been conducted by the Inter rTaiernuy council ana tne Panhellenic Council. Neither council, however, took appropriate action. That was their mistake because they failed to assure the electorate of a competentlyrun election. For their negligence, they have not only left the election in question, but their competency in question as well. But the greatest matter of concern is the dominance of special interest groups. We are here to elect those who best represent all students. Unfortunately, there are students t_ i . ? i * Deiongmg to tne aommant 1 : V' U on't bite. - in ~ 1 rlr%# ctm *0 Y interest groups who vote only for members of their respective group. When people consider interest group membership as the only criterion in selecting candidates, they often overlook the most important criterion of all - who's the best person for the job. FOR AS long as I've been here, Greeks have complained of nntt.npoolr ?/? MMKA X41 Wf% OV?lltlllICIHd among many non-Greeks. But what can you expect when you only endorse Greek candidates for SG offices, and do not even consider non-Greek candidates? To most non-Greeks, the message is quite clear: the Greeks want no non-Greeks in SG. So how much respectability can such a slate of candidates have among the electorate, most of which is nr?n.riroolr9 \T/vf null VJa VV>I\ . liui VCiJf 111UCI1 ell all. The Association of AfroAmerican Students (AAAS), representing more than 10 percent of the student body, is also a dominant interest group Finance CI responds tc To the Editor: 4 I have been at Carolina for tu have read Gamecock editorials annoyed me. Never before have I always felt that the truth wai defended. But I must make exce reply because of the editorial "1 which was printed on Feb. 20. Ac nno Af fV?n iiu uiiv/ ui me pji mv^ipic ci icirat Brooks' fantasized conspiracy, almost slanderous editorial. Truth being, I did purposely h hardly to placate Ms. Roughtoi chairman of the finance commi political battle that this would ai GAME John R. Frti \t Jane Shealy r News Editor Barbara N Don Fobes " Graduate/* Asst. News Editor Barry C \ Dan Palma Entertainmt S Copy Desk Chief Mark Mi j Arlene Morgan Asst. Entertain, i Photography Editor Karen W Production I THE GAMECOCK welcomes tetters Irom its r subiect and a maximum of 300 words. They ri ! Pseudonyms or other aliases will not be usee iircumstances warrant. To assist us in verif your mailing address and a telephone numbei class standing and ma|or, also. We reserve thi to meet our space limitations. Address: Cat USC, Columbia, S. C. 29208. ??J, I 1 It ' t and strong political faction that can deliver a large bloc of votes. To date, AAAS has presented no endorsed slate of candidates, although many black students are running for various offices and senate seats. ALLOW ME to give black voters a bit of advice: don't endorse an all-black slate. If you do, your slate will alienate many non-black voters who would otherwise vote for some black candidates. All slates have the potential of alienating voters, but a slate with candidates who are all of the same interest group can alienate almost any voter who is not of that group. The same rule applies to any other special interest groups. There are definite disadvantages in the control of a government by one special interest group. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that it will be to one's advantage if the winner is of his interest group. After all, if the winning candidate is incompetent, no one will benefit from his win. h airman ) editorial ro years. During this period, I which have both amused and felt the need to write a reply. I 5 apparent and need not be ption to my past reluctance to Balance forward not needed," ters (the only student) in Mr. I feel obligated to refute his old the bill in committee, but i and-or Dean Alexander. As ttee, I was well aware of the *ouse. To help expedite what I See SENATOR, page 19 cociT West >r Wayne Brooks tathews Opinion Page Editor assistant Matt Ward ilenr) Sports Editor fnt Editor teller Chris Myers ment Editor A??-Sports Editors ' Bill Fitipatrick ' ??*en Ad Manager Manager eaders. Letters should be limited to a single nust be signed with the writer's true name. I, but the writer's name will be withheld if ; ying the identity of writers, please include r where you can be reached. Please include i right to edit all letters, not for content, but | r>pus Opinion, The Gamecock, Drawer A, -